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Camera Iconstock image. Credit: Supplied/James Steidl

Man fined for not lodging Hamilton Hill rental bonds

Staff WriterCockburn Gazette

A SYDNEY man has been fined $10,000 for failing to lodge tenant bonds for two separate tenants in a Hamilton Hill duplex.

In July 2016 landlord Mark Alasdair Adam collected a $1600 bond from a tenant at the Phoenix Road duplex before collecting the same amount from the tenants next door a month later in August.

After almost three years neither bond had been lodged with the Bond Administrator, which the magistrate found put Mr Adam in breach of the Residential Tenancies Act.

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On March 21 Mr Adam was convicted at the Perth Magistrates Court in his absence and fined $5000 for each offence.

He was also order to pay $3775.10 in costs.

Consumer Protection commissioner David Hillyard said the case was a warning to landlords who managed their own rental properties that they needed to comply with the Residential Tenancies Act.

“Bond money is held securely in trust by the Bond Administrator and any delay in depositing these funds puts them at risk,” he said.

“There is absolutely no excuse why bond monies are not lodged with the Bond Administrator nor any reason why they cannot be lodged within the 14 day period or sooner.

“Landlords who choose not to engage a real estate agent to manage their property should ensure they are aware of the laws that apply to them, especially for the lodgement of bond monies, property condition reports, a tenants right to quiet enjoyment and property inspections.

“Landlords can face criminal convictions and fines of up to $20,000 if they violate these important aspects of tenancy law.”

Visit www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumer-protection for more information.